I See the Light
by doodlegirll
Summary: ..:Tangled oneshot. Contains major spoilers!:.. Flynn Rider didn't care what happened to him now, just so long as she was safe. Flynn/Rapunzel


**I just saw this movie on the day it came out with my best friend, and again today, and at the end, I said, "I MUST WRITE A FANFICTION ON THIS MOVIE!" Now, as of late, I've strayed away from fanfiction, focusing my energy on my more original ideas, especially during NaNoWriMo, but I can't pass up the opportunity to write a fanfic for this movie simply because of the epic awesomeness of it all! **

**So here's my little fanfic, set when Flynn got captured and then when he rescued Rapunzel. Because they are probably the cutest Disney couple ever. :D Not to mention Flynn was amazing. **

**Oh, and I took the liberty of giving the bandit brothers that traveled with Flynn names, as they were never mentioned in the movie or credits, as well as the little creepy guy they dressed up like a cherub. **

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing. -tear-_**

**EDIT: DID I EVER MENTION I HATE THE DOCUMENT UPLOADER HERE? Sorry about this! I had to update this five times before it correctly saved my changes. Oi. **

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**I See The Light**

A "Tangled" oneshot

_by doodlegirll_

...oOo...

"Rapunzel?"

His mind was incredibly fuzzy. Somehow, between just a day ago and now, he had become quite accustomed to the feeling, having been hit over the head with a heavy, cast-iron frying pan thrice by the woman he had come to care about. He had figured that this probably wasn't a good thing in the long run, judging especially from the lumps he had found hiding in his thick hair, and the headaches he had even after the initial confusion of what had happened had worn off.

Blinking back the blurriness, he realized with a start that his hands were tied to the wheel of a small dingy, and when he looked down at his body, he realized that the rest of him was as well. Looking up, his heart stopped when he realized that he was staring into the eyes of the royal guards that had been tracking him for years, their white armor gleaming in the moonlight and from the last few paper lanterns that had begun to float back down to earth, their little candles beginning to dim as the wicks finally reached their limit.

"No!" He said, finally realizing what this meant. Guards were surrounding him, weapons poised, cutting him free of the ropes that bound him, holding tight to his arms as they dragged him from the boat. "No, let me go! You can't do this!" He cast a glance over his shoulder into the fog in the direction of the far bank, where he had last seen Rapunzel, where she was probably at the mercy of the thug brothers. "Rapunzel! _RAPUNZEL!"_

_She probably thinks I left her! _He thought. _Luke and Logan tricked me! And now they have Rapunzel..._

He was too dumbfounded by the truth to fight anymore as he was dragged into the dark tunnels of the castle. The guards were non too gentle with him; after all, he had given them quite the run for their money many times over, especially after stealing that damn crown. One of them fumbled with a ring of keys when they finally reached the prison tower, and unlocked an empty cell, shoving him in so hard that he fell to his hands and knees on the cold stone floor. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide with shock, as the guards slammed the door, laughing in pure delight at having finally caught the most wanted criminal in the entire kingdom.

Flynn sat up on his knees, placing his head in his hands, breathing deeply to try and clear his still fuzzy mind.

"This can't be happening," he said to himself, half out of disbelief and half out of understanding. "This cannot be happening to me!"

He looked up at the moon through the little barred window. Standing up, he made his way to it. Peering out, he could see that the fog was beginning to clear over the river, and he could just make out the tiny speck of brown that he knew was the boat he had used to take Rapunzel out onto the water to view the lantern ceremony. And though he couldn't see very much, he could definitely see that Rapunzel was not there. That hair was long enough, even in the thick braid, to be seen from anywhere in the world, he was almost surely convinced. That hair was nothing short of a miracle, with its healing abilities and glowing tendencies whenever Rapunzel sang to it.

He looked down at his hand, the one Rapunzel had wrapped her beautiful blonde hair around and healed just the previous night. Tracing the skin of his palm where the cut had been, he closed his eyes, sighing.

"Oh, Rapunzel," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

He should have just thrown that damn satchel and crown into the river as soon as Rapunzel had returned it to him. It didn't mean a thing to him now; the girl he had discovered hidden from the world in a tower did. The beautiful, energetic young girl locked in a tower her entire life, yearning to taste just a little bit of freedom, to feel the wind in her face, the grass beneath her toes. What wonder her big green eyes held as she took in the world around her, so amazing and yet so terrifying all at the same time, the look on her face when she finally saw the floating lanterns for the first time up close. He would never forget the way she looked out there on that river, smiling like she was having the time of her life.

And for a moment, he knew where he belonged. His entire life he had been living a lie, and for once, he felt _real. _

And all of that had been snatched away from him, and from her, in no more than an instant.

Turning away from the window, he set himself against the wall, and slid to the floor.

Of course it was in his nature to try and formulate an escape plan. He was more worried for Rapunzel than he was for himself. Those thugs planned to use her, sell her off to the highest bidder, all for her magical hair. And who knows what they would do to her in the meantime! Would they even feed her, make sure she didn't trip or hurt herself, keep her safe from the various wild animals in the forest? He could just see her dirty and ruggedly tired, her long hair dingy and tangled. Those two barely had enough common sense put together to keep up with their own personal hygiene, let alone a young woman's.

Resting his forehead against his fist, Flynn closed his eyes.

It was going to be a long night.

...oOo...

He didn't sleep well. The cold cobblestones didn't offer much in the way of a bed, and despite the warm summer night outside, it was quite cold in his prison cell. In fact, as soon as he felt the first rays of morning sunlight shine down onto his handsome face through the bars of the window, he was up and on his feet in an instant. For just one moment, he had been hopeful that it had all been a dream, but then he realized, seeing nothing but stone walls and heavy metal bars around him, the groans and scoffs of other prisoners, of which he could not see, that it was, in fact, horribly real.

He found himself passing the agonizingly slow time by pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. He was surprised a rut hadn't developed beneath his boots, he had paced so much! Back and forth, back and forth.

Sighing, he turned to the window, leaning against the windowsill, wondering what the hell he was going to do. Somehow he had to help Rapunzel...maybe there was a chance she had gotten away? Surely then she would go back to her tower, where she was safe...

It was then he heard the footsteps behind him, and he turned to find the guardsmen that had captured him the night before standing outside his cell.

"Alright, Rider, let's get this over with." Their leader said.

Flynn blinked in confusion. "Where're we going?"

He saw the slight smirks of the guards, and all in an instant he understood. His hand went to his neck as the gravity of the situation hit him like the force of Rapunzel's frying pan.

"Oh."

The guards came in and chained his hands behind him, tightening the cuffs just a little too tight as they did so. One on each side, the guards led him out the cell as their leader lived up to his title and led the way.

Flynn couldn't help but comply, going along willingly with them. He could barely believe what had happened in just three days time. Three days ago he had just been a humble thief, stealing for no rhyme or reason, enjoying the life he lived as the infamous Flynn Rider. Then he had almost quite literally stumbled across that tower in the hidden valley and discovered the beautiful young girl with seventy feet of luscious blonde hair that glowed when she sang to it and healed wounds. And that girl had turned his very world around.

At first he had seen her as a distraction, a simple obstacle that stood between him and his dream of an island somewhere. But as the hours had passed by, and he had gotten to know her for the strong-willed, intelligent woman she was, he had found himself feeling...unusual. He had never felt this way about anyone before. He began to enjoy her company, as opposed to wanting to get her to the lantern festival and back to her tower as fast as possible so he could get on with his life. And when he looked at her out on that river, her hair fragrant with the scents of the various flowers the little girls who had braided her ridiculously long hair had threaded into the strands. The way she smiled, the almost child-like wonder her big green eyes held as she looked at the glorious spectacle about her, he finally realized that he didn't need any of the things he had coveted for so long. How blind he had been! All he needed was _her_.

He loved her.

And now, as he was led away to his death, she was all he could think about. Where was she? Had she managed to get away? Was she safe? Did she hate him for leaving her?

Glancing to his right, he spied two very familiar twin forms sitting in a cell, seething in their own self pity.

Flynn felt the anger begin to boil inside, like a firecracker about to blow, and without so much as a second thought, he rammed his shoulder into the guard at his left, and the his right. Be brought his knees up and together in a single leap, jumping through his cuffed hands like a hoop. Within an instant he had the twin he recognized as Logan in his hands, pressing him up against the bars, their noses almost touching.

"Tell me what you did with her!" He screamed. "What did you do to her?" When Logan hesitated, he tightened his grip, slamming him against the bars once more. "Tell me where she is! _NOW!"_

Logan shook his head. "I-I don't know!" He said. "She went with the old lady!"

"Old lady...?" Flynn asked, and his eyes widened in shock.

The old lady was Rapunzel's mother, Gothel. _She_ had Rapunzel.

It was then he realized that Gothel wasn't as young as she probably appeared. While he had never seen her for himself, he had seen the paintings of her on Rapunzel's walls back in the tower, and when he had asked her who she was, Rapunzel had explained that she was her mother, the one who had confined her to that tower for eighteen long years, never once allowing her to step foot outside in fear that someone would find her, or worse, that she would finally find the courage to leave for herself. Rapunzel had also mentioned that her mother remained young because of her magical hair, and she had also mentioned that she didn't mind it so much, because that meant she could keep the woman who had raised her, kept her "safe", with her. Gothel was using Rapunzel to stay young.

The felt the heavy hands of the guards clamp down on his shoulders, more of them this time, wrestling him away from the brothers.

"No, she's in trouble!" He screamed, hoping maybe someone would listen to him. "You don't understand, she's in danger! Let me go!"

He began to fight like he had never fought before. He twisted and heaved, trying with all his might to get out of the grip of the guards, desperately writhing in their vices. Rapunzel was in danger, and he had to save her! He scarcely cared what happened to him now, just so long as she was safe.

He didn't stop fighting, and he glanced outside, where he saw the gallows, the noose swaying slightly in the breeze, and he fought the panic rising at the pit of his stomach. There was so much he had to live for now...had they caught him three days ago, just _three days ago_, he would have surely felt sorry for himself, and yeah, he would have fought them even then, but now he actually had a purpose, he had something - some_one_ - who needed him.

"You can't do this!" He said. "She's in trouble! She'll die if you don't let me go! Please, I'm telling you, you have to let me go!"

One of the guards slapped him across the face, and then another slammed his hand down against his shoulder, and he lurched forward.

_This can't be happening..._He thought. _She needs me! She's in trouble! The woman I love is going to die if I don't find someway out of here! _

He fought back tears as he grew closer and closer to the door at the end of the hall that would take him outside to the courtyard and onto the platform where he would fall, and with him, so would Rapunzel.

It was then he spotted the tiny, familiar ceramic unicorn sitting atop a ledge in the hall.

It was Vlad's unicorn.

And then the door that led the courtyard slammed closed, just as the captain of the guard reached it. The little slot at the top of the door slid away to reveal the little drunkard known as Cupid at the Snuggly Duckling on the other side of the door. Flynn was still too confused to fully comprehend what exactly was going on, but as the captain of the guard argued with Cupid over the password that would get them through the door, he saw a large, metal hook reach down from the rafters and snatch up the guards on either side of him before they had time to blink.

The captain of the guard turned to face him, and he gave him a smile and small wave, innocent as could be. The captain gave him a startled look before he was knocked out by Hook Hand with none other than a frying pan.

"Frying pans, right?" Flynn said, beginning to feel a ray of hope filter in through the dark hopelessness that had almost consumed him. "Who knew!"

Other guards began to run into the hallway, and Vlad suddenly appeared, taking out three guards at once as they neared Flynn. Hook Hand unlocked the cuffs on Flynn's wrists, and grabbed him, pulling him into another hallway as more guards appeared. They reached the courtyard, and Hook Hand grabbed him.

"Alright, head down!" He demonstrated, and Flynn followed his lead.

"Head down!"

"Arms in!"

"Arms in!"

"Knees apart!"

"Knees apar- Wait, what?" Flynn looked at him. "Why do I need my knees apart?"

And then he was flying through the air. He had been standing on top of a cart without even really realizing it, and another thug had come up behind him and sent him catapulting through the air. As he flipped in the air, he began to descend back to earth, and he closed his eyes, afraid of where he might land.

And then he landed, rather gently, onto something. He opened his eyes, and saw that it was a saddle on the back of a familiar white horse.

"Max?" Flynn asked the horse, who had been hell-bent on capturing him even as early as the afternoon before. "You led them here?"

Maximus gave him a knowing look, as if saying "Duh, stupid!" and Flynn blinked.

"Thank you," he said gratefully. "No, really, thank you. If you hadn't-"

Maximus gave him a different look, this time a look of annoyance.

"Yeah, you're right, we should probably go."

That was all the horse needed to hear as he reared and began running, just as guards began to swarm the area. Flynn realized with a pang that they were surrounded, and there was no way out, until he saw that Max had his eyes on the end of the pathway, which led to nothing but air.

"Max, what are you doing?" He said, suddenly beginning to doubt his newfound trust in the horse. "Max!"

Max leapt through the air, soaring over the heads of the guards and pavilions in the alley below, and in that moment, almost everything slowed down. Flynn wound his fingers into the horse's mane, holding on for dear life (he had already had a near death experience today, and a couple yesterday, and now he had yet another one to add to his list, if they made it through this leap of faith alive), and he closed his eyes yet again, praying to God that they landed on _something, anything,_ and that he could get to Rapunzel in time.

Max landed on the red tiled roof of the nearest building, and they slid down the side and onto the street, once again leaping over guardsmen as they ran out after them. Flynn looked behind him at them as they galloped away from the kingdom, grinning in pure delight. He laughed at them for a moment before turning his eyes back on the road ahead. He leaned down close to Max's ear.

"Alright, Max!" He said. "Let's see how fast you can run!"

The horse whinnied, and with a blast of energy, they bolted across the stone bridge into the forest.

Everything after that became a blur to Flynn. All he cared about was reaching that tower in time. He vowed that he wouldn't rest until he found her, and she was safe in his arms.

They raced through the trees and the bush, leaping over rocks and fallen logs. Flynn didn't have his sword on him, and the guards had confiscated his knife the night before, so he kept his head low, avoiding getting the wind knocked out of him by branches and vines. He was already bruised enough from the previous day alone, what from slamming torso-first into a ledge, then Max jabbing him in the stomach with his hoof, and then the thugs at the Snuggly Duckling fighting over him like a ragdoll, and he tried to ignore the horrible headache he still had from all those hits to the head. Four now, he counted.

Maximus knew exactly where he was going, and he ran through the curtain of ivy. The sky was beginning to darken, storm clouds rolling in ominously, and Flynn bit his lip, hoping this wasn't a horrible premonition of what was to come.

He jumped off of Maximus, and ran to the foot of the tower.

"Rapunzel!" He yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. Nothing happened. "Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

When nothing happened, Flynn's heart began to race. He was too late; Rapunzel was gone!

And then, like a miracle from above, long blonde hair flew out from the window, just as he began to scale the side of the tall building. Sighing and smiling in relief, he grabbed it, and shimmied his way up and into the window.

The tower was dark inside, and the broken glass of a mirror littered the floor, and he followed the river of hair to its owner at the far wall.

"Rapunzel?"

It was then he saw her. She was chained to the wall, a gag pulled over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and terrified, like a caged animal, and she mumbled and gestured to him wildly, as if trying to warn him, casting her eyes over his shoulder.

Flynn took a single step forward, and suddenly, he felt something cold and sharp jab into his right side, sinking deep and hard. He gasped as it was pulled out quickly, and he realized he had just been stabbed. He fell to the floor, clutching his side with both hands. Rapunzel screamed behind her gag.

"See, Rapunzel?" He heard a cruel voice sneer. "This is what happens when you go outside."

A woman dressed in a dark red dress with thick black curly hair stepped over him, crossing the room to where Rapunzel desperately fought against her chains, trying to get to him.

The woman - Mother Gothel, he realized through the immense pain - crossed over to Rapunzel and unchained her from the wall. "We're leaving, Rapunzel." She began to drag her backwards, towards a hole in the floor. "We're going somewhere where no one will ever find you again." The blonde haired girl continued to resist, and Gothel was going impatient. "Don't fight me, Rapunzel!"

He locked eyes with her for a moment, and with one final tug, she fell backwards, and the gag fell from around her mouth. She faced Mother Gothel.

"NO!" She said, firmly and angrily. "I will fight you! I will never stop trying to get away from you! I will fight and fight until the day that I die!" She began to speak through her teeth, the anger evident in her otherwise melodious and sweet voice. "But...if you let me heal him, I'll go with you."

"No, Rapunzel!" Flynn clutched his side, the blood seeping through his fingers, and he tried to find the strength to get to his feet. He collapsed back to the floor, another wave of agonizing pain flowing through his veins like fire and ice, burning and stinging his every fiber, taking every ounce of strength he had with it, and all the while he fought the bitter cold that began to overtake him. "Don't!"

Rapunzel ignored him. "Please, if you let me save him, I'll go with you willingly. I'll never try to escape, I promise! It'll just be you and me, forever." He could hear the desperation in her voice now. "But please, just _let me heal him._"

Mother Gothel gave the girl a stoney look before she pulled a key from the pocket in her dress, unlocking the cuffs around Rapunzel's wrists. She crossed the room to where Flynn lay, and fastened the chains to a beam on the wall before cuffing his right hand. He still clutched his side, trying to stop the bleeding with no avail. He coughed, harshly, as she leaned in close to his face and spat, locking the cuff into place,

"So you don't get any ideas about trying to follow us."

She stepped away, and Flynn coughed again, fighting for air, trying with all his might to stay conscious, as Rapunzel fell to her knees next to him.

"Eugene!" She said, taking his face in her hands.

"No, Rapunzel," he said, weakly. "I can't... let you do this!"

"Shhh, it's going to be okay." Rapunzel soothed, as she removed his hand and inspected the stab wound. Blood soaked through his white cotton shirt, and he coughed again, tasting the blood at the back of his throat.

He was dying, and he knew it. And if he had to die, he was going to die knowing Rapunzel was safe. He was going to set her free. He had to. If he did nothing else, he had to know she was safe.

Rapunzel laid some of her hair on his wound, and he pushed it away. "Rapunzel, I can't...let you do this," he gasped out, grabbing her hand, unwilling to allow her to touch the bloody gash.

"Eugene, it's going to be alright." Rapunzel said, looking down at him. "I promise." She smiled encouragingly, but he could see the fear in her eyes.

"No, I can't let you." He pushed her hand away again, holding on to it.

Tears flooded her eyes, and she blinked them away.

"And I can't let you die." She said, her voice shaking.

He knew he was running out of time, fast, his life fading away with every drop of blood that dripped from his bleeding torso. As Rapunzel once again arranged her hair over the wound, his eyes flitted to the floor where he spied a large shard of mirror. Grabbing it, he held it tightly in his hand. Rapunzel opened her mouth to begin singing the enchanting tune that would ignite her hair into life, but he brought his free hand up to her face.

"Rapunzel, wait..." He said, his voice growing ever weaker.

Rapunzel stopped, looking at him as he gently moved a lock of hair away from her eye. Placing the hand behind her head, he gently tugged her downwards, as if to kiss her, before he used the last bit of strength he had left and lashed out with his other hand, the sharp edges of the mirror shard slicing through Rapunzel's hair, cropping it short. Immediately it turned from blonde to brown, and he saw her gasp as she pulled away from him, her hands going to her head.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Mother Gothel screamed as she grabbed the now rapidly browning hair that lay on the floor. "What have you done?"

Her skin began to turn a ghostly shade of grey, her skin cracking and shrinking. Her face sank in, and her hair turned white, thinning, and she gasped as she pulled her hood over her head, screaming in rage. She began to stumble wildly, blindly, and Flynn saw Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, tug on some of the hair on the floor, pulling it taught just as Mother Gothel stumbled towards him, and she tripped backwards and out the window. Rapunzel jumped to her feet and reached out to the woman's falling figure, rushing to the windowsill and watched as the screaming woman fell. The screams died down, and Flynn knew, in that moment, that Rapunzel was safe forever.

He felt himself growing weaker and weaker, and his vision began to blur. He released the shard of mirror, and sighed deeply as he tried to take in more air, tried to fight the warm darkness that threatened to overtake him.

Rapunzel heard him sigh, and she turned back to face him, once again to taking his face in her hands.

"No no no no no!" She said. "Eugene! Eugene, stay with me! Stay with me, please!" She pressed his hand to her head. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine..." She began to cry, stumbling over the words as if trying to remember them.

"Rapunzel..." He whispered.

She opened her eyes, connecting with his brown ones as his eyelids began to droop.

"Yes?" She whispered back, fighting back tears.

"You were my new dream." He said.

"And you were mine," She choked, pressing his hand to her cheek, holding on to it as though it were her final lifeline.

Flynn couldn't hold on any longer, and as he tried to open his mouth to tell her he loved her, the fatigue finally won, and he fell into spiralling darkness.

At least the final act of Flynn Rider's life had been saving the woman he loved.

She was far better than any crown.

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**I figured that was as good a place as any to end this, and I'm quite happy with it. :)**

**Review please!**


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